(1) Is the Minister aware that adolescent young people who have a mentally ill parent have an eight times greater risk of suicide than those who do not.

(2) Does the Minister accept that the support needs of these children are urgent and different from those of their parents.

(3) What steps have been taken to provide support for the children of mentally ill parents.

(4) (a) Is it the case that the Mental Health Branch of the department forwarded to the Victorian State Government a copy of the funding submission from the National Network of Adult and Adolescent Children who have a Mentally Ill Parent/s (NNAAM); (b) can a copy of that correspondence be provided; and (c) can a copy of the response be provided.

(5) Has the Minister; (a) raised this matter with other state governments; and (b) considered requesting the states to fund a support service for the children of mentally ill parents under the National Mental Health Strategy; if so, what has been the response.

(6) If the states will not fund an organisation such as NNAAMI to provide support for children of mentally ill parents, will the Federal Government provide direct funding for that purpose.

(1) No.

(2) Yes.

(3) The provision of services for people with mental health problems as well as their families is a State and Territory responsibility. This includes the provision of services for children with mentally ill parents.

(4) (a) Yes.

(b) a copy of the relevant correspondence has been provided to the honourable Senator.

(c) a copy of the relevant correspondence has been provided to the honourable Senator.

(5) (a) No.

(b) No. Funding for service delivery is a State responsibility and it is up to individual States and Territories to determine the best way to respond to the needs of this group in their jurisdiction.

(6) The Commonwealth together with the States and Territories will consider its role in the provision of support for children of mentally ill parents once the final report of the study on children of parents with a mental illness is available. The proper forum for this is the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council National Mental Health Working Group.